“A body that contains Ethos yet is unable to utilize it in the manner that it is meant to be—that is what it means to be born with a cursed body. However, those with cursed bodies are not entirely forsaken.” Methysria stated.
She then continued, “Based on the amount of Ethos one possesses from birth, their physique is enhanced to a certain degree. Those with weak Ethos are not much stronger than a mortal hunter. As for those with stronger Ethos, they can barely be considered on the same level as those of the Megada ancient race. However, Ourami is different.”
“Even for a pillar, Ourami was born with an abnormal amount of Ethos. This led to a change never seen before in one that possesses a cursed body. The manifestation of a different kind of authority—the Epithets.”
“Epithet? Like your titles?” Sychia inquired.
Each celestial seemed to have a specific title that expressed what it was they had control over or, at the very least, gave one a general idea of it.
“You’re half right. However, an Epithet is more like a title that resides within another title.” Methysria replied.
Sychia furrowed her brows. A title within a title?
Methysria sensed Sychia’s confusion. Although she maintained her silence, the Daughter of Spirits felt that there were many things off about Sychia and her two companions.
For one, they displayed abilities well beyond that of any mortal. Not to mention, they lacked basic information that anyone should know.
The only reason Methysria did not bring it up was due to the fact that they were Astratis’ guests. In addition, they were currently fighting towards the same goal.
Besides, Methysria believed there was a good chance that the Son of Thunder was already aware of the irregularity of their existence.
“It may sound complicated, but try to think of it as a bowl filled with water. The bowl is the vessel that carries the authority behind one’s title, while the water itself is the power that one controls with their authority. This is what it means to have Ethos.” Methysria said as she held out her left palm, revealing a light blue mystical stream of energy that flowed upward.
She then continued, “Having an Epithet is like pouring melted wax into the water—they simply won’t mix. But, that does not mean the water nor the wax ceases to exist. Instead, the water encompasses the wax, and the bowl now contains two distinct substances.”
“I see…! I think I understand now.” Sychia said as it suddenly dawned on her.
Having control of a power that was unique to the individual—wasn’t this the same as a Domain?!
“No, I can not sense any Domain energy coming from her or any of the other celestials. There are some differences between the authority given by Ethos and awakening a Domain, but the fundamental concepts make them comparable to one another. It is almost as if someone took the rules of a Domain and created a unique energy source that revolves around nearly identical principles. This is highly unusual…” Sychia internalized.
“My Ethos grants me authority over Spirits, hence my title is the Daughter of Spirits. Astratis’ Ethos grants him authority over Thunder, hence his title as the Son of Thunder. But, since thunder cannot exist without lightning, it can be said that he is the only existence to ever have an Epithet without a cursed body similar to Ourami’s—the Epithet of Lightning. However, we are still not certain whether or not it is entirely accurate to call it an Epithet. In the end, it conflicts too much from what we know.” Methysria explained.
Sychia pondered briefly and then responded, “It sounds as though an Epithet is almost like a byproduct of one’s Ethos. It appears to exist solely for the purpose of maintaining the natural laws that revolve around it.”
“Oh? We have had similar thoughts, but… To think you would arrive at a similar conclusion after only hearing a brief explanation.” Methysria commented with a light smile.
Sychia and Methysria slowed their movements as they arrived at a new section of the battlefield that had yet to be cleared.
“Enemies! Enemies!” One of the nearby ancient races cried out.
“Kill!”
“For the master!”
Several of the ancient races charged at Sychia and Methysria at every angle.
In the blink of an eye, the two were surrounded on all sides.
“By the way, do you know what Epithet the Pillar of the West possesses?” Sychia asked out of curiosity as she unsheathed the elegant blade at her side.
“Do you remember when I said his case was a little unique? Well, that’s because he possesses four Epithets.” Methysria answered before she drank from her gourd and spewed out a vapor of liqueur in her surroundings.
This caused some of the weaker ancient races who charged forward to fall to the ground unconscious after they breathed it in.
“Four?” Sychia swept her sword outward as a constant flow of cherry blossoms bloomed on the blade’s edge.
The next moment, the cherry blossoms were expelled from the blade and sliced through the enemies, riddling their bodies with several vicious cuts.
“That’s right. Unfortunately, since he is the youngest pillar, the information we have regarding his abilities is somewhat unreliable. However, we speculated that Mandates are somehow related to it. The Left Hand Force, the Right Hand Seizing, the Left Eye Scrutiny, and—the Right Eye, Divination.” Methysria stated.
…
As Hakros’ fist approached, Ourami lifted his left hand and held out his palm to intercept the blow.
Simultaneously, the pillar’s metallic-like tail moved swiftly to deflect Izroth’s sword strike as Ourami slightly moved his right hand.
“I’ve already told you—it’s useless.” Ourami’s voice sounded.
BANG! Ding!
Hakros’ fist was the first to reach Ourami as it collided with the pillar’s left hand.
The impact of the strike immediately shattered the ground under the pillar’s feet; however, the Ourami himself remained unmoved despite the frightening force behind the blow.
Next, was Izroth’s Sword Arts: Four Steps of Death. The skill granted him a huge burst of movement speed and caused his next sword strike to instantly strike the opponent in range. However, the strange tail intercepted his Sword of the Storm as the driving momentum behind the sword strike appeared to have simply vanished into thin air.
‘It’s the same as that time.’
Izroth was immediately reminded of when Hakros launched an attack on Ourami from above.
At the time, Hakros was blown away—as if he had merely been bested in strength. However, for it to be so one-sided considering the source of Hakros’ power, Izroth knew there had to be some kind of mysterious force at work that even his Energy Vision Sense was unable to detect.
At the moment just before his Sword of the Storm clashed with Ourami’s tail, Izroth felt the sword intent contained within the blade disappear. And, just like what happened with his Primed Instantaneous Movement, the skill had been forcibly canceled. But, that was not all. Even the strength behind his basic sword strike was nowhere to be found!
Ourami’s tail lashed out, knocking Izroth away several meters. Simultaneously, Ourami increased the grip of his fingers on Hakros’ hand, lifting the behemoth into the air with one arm!
“You want to have a contest of strength with me? I ask you—are you qualified?” Ourami said with a cold gaze as he looked up at Hakros.
However, without giving Hakros any time to respond, Ourami shoved his left arm forward, tossing Hakros away and into the distance!
Out of nowhere, an overbearing destructive and penetrative force formed next to Ourami.
Barely a fraction of a moment had passed, yet Izroth wasted no time and immediately used a burst of Compressed Lightning Movement to launch a second assault. This time, however, Izroth was using a fusion skill—the First Baneful Sword: Destruction Point!
Though Izroth did not stop there as the spear in his other hand underwent a bizarre phenomenon, causing the aura around it to drastically shift.
Izroth utilized Zakra’s Harmonic Spear of Causality with his First Baneful Sword: Destruction Point. He did not know how Ourami was able to directly exert some kind of influence over them; however, in terms of changing the outcome at hand, the Law of Causality was second to none!
Thanks to using the Link ability of his Dual Wielding, Izroth’s arms of lightning were still in the middle of making their rain of instant attacks; however, it did not prevent him from following up with another attack due to its restrictions.
This created a unique situation where while Izroth’s arms of lightning were still in the middle of their barrage, he was able to unleash a devastation combination attack!
Izroth’s Sword of the Storm unleashed a terrifying sword intent that would cause players who stood before it to tremble in fear. And, with the buff provided by his arms of lightning, his fusion skill First Baneful Sword: Destruction Point had reached an entirely new level!
